美国国家公共电台 NPR--Meg Medina is the first Latinx ambassador for young people's literature

Meg Medina is the first Latinx ambassador for young people's literature

Transcript¹

The Library of Congress has named Cuban American writer Meg Medina as its new national ambassador for young people's literature. Medina, who writes children's and young adult fiction, is the first Latinx ambassador in the program's history.

"It's a huge honor, but it also comes balanced with this enormous responsibility," Medina tells NPR. "My job is to help America's children construct a reading life."

She takes over the ambassador role from young-adult writer Jason Reynolds.

"That's been one of the encouraging things of watching children's literature, the community develop in recent years," Medina says. "We're getting more varied² stories that really match who's in the seats in our schools right now."

Medina's middle-grade novel "Merci Suárez Changes Gears," which won the prestigious³ Newbery Medal for children's literature in 2019, is part of that wave.

"My books always center on three things: Growing up, culture and family. And how those three things intersect," Medina says. "Sometimes they're beautiful intersections⁴ and sometimes they're really bumpy⁵, right?"

Throughout her two-year term as ambassador, Medina will engage with readers across the country with her platform,"Cuéntame," which encourages book discussions beyond the classroom.

"Cuéntame is 'So tell me.' Tell me about books, tell me about what's going on in your library, tell me what your favorite thing was," Medina says.

Medina will be touring schools around the country to talk with students in person, as well as maintaining an online presence to interact with students through social media and other platforms. Some activities will be available in both English and Spanish.

"The power of reading is in its ability to help people sort of see themselves in the pages, understand themselves and how they act and feel," Medina says. "It's in helping⁶ build empathy for other people."

Medina takes on the role of ambassador in the face of increased censorship of literature in schools, in particular works with LGBTQ themes and characters. The author's own book, "Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass," won the Pura Belpré Award in 2014 and has long been the target of bans.

On Tuesday, January 24, the Library of Congress will be officially welcoming Medina as the newest ambassador for young people's literature. The event will be streamed live on the library's Youtube page.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

3 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

4 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

5 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。